Tidesong's Journal

Dear Reed Copsey, Jr.: Thank you, asshat!

tidesong — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 22:40:29 GMT

(Warning: Strong language within) Today, I am grateful for my asshat ex-husband. For one reason, and one reason only: By being the asshole you were, and treating me with absolutely no respect and basically throwing me out on the street, you have allowed me to follow the shocking, overwhelming, and often traumatic path I've had to find to get to where I am now. Despite its own problems, it is one of the best places in life I have ever been. Thanks to you being the self-centered, egotistical jerk that was turning into your prick of a father; the coward who seriously thought you were upholding our marriage vows by sitting me down out of the blue and telling me you wanted a divorce when I had no clue, I have been able to find my beshert. I will be married to someone who actually cares about me. All of me, despite my faults. The man who I love more than I have ever loved in my life. So thank you, Reed, for causing the deepest, darkest periods of my life because of your selfishness. It is because of that swirling maelstrom of darkness that I am able to see the light that shines on me now. For everything else in life, you can buzz off. From this point forward, you no longer exist to me. So long!

Emergency Kitten Network Activation!! (Western Michigan)

tidesong — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 06:06:42 GMT

Emergency kitten network activation! Western Michigan. Kitty will likely be taken to the Humane Society, where at age 4, she will likely be put down. No-kill shelters are at capacity. Please spread the word!

Details HERE.

Knitting: Project #25: Finished!

tidesong — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:07:11 GMT

Just finished the July 2010 KAL for Rachels' Knitting Room. It's a really neat pattern. I was always wondering how some blanket patterns made a wavy edge.... I think this would make a lovely scarf, maybe with one less pattern repeat widthwise....

So, who would win?

tidesong — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 04:16:41 GMT

View Poll: Who would win?

Question for knitters

tidesong — Tue, 04 May 2010 23:32:15 GMT

Okay, so I'm going to start myself a blanket. A full-size one, so it's going to take me forever. But my question is this: the pattern says the finished size will be 45" x 60", so.. what size cables should I use on my interchangable needles to accommodate for this without being too much cable? Would 36" be enough? Too much? I really have no idea....

Oh, and what's the best cast on to use for a blanket??

(The pattern, if you're curious is Fabulous Felines Rajah's Blanket.)

Knitting: Project #20: Finished!

tidesong — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 22:12:42 GMT

This is the March 2010 Knit-A-Long from Rachel's Knitting Room. It was a tricky pattern at first. The first two attempts for me failed...I thought I'd been careful and was following stitches exactly, but obviously, I hadn't because I ended up with too many stitches.

Third time's the charm. Worked beautifully. I love this pattern....it's gorgeous! I'll get better pics after I block it....

Knitting question

tidesong — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:45:37 GMT

Knitters:

I'm planning on starting a throw. It instructs to cast on 200 stitches. I have two questions:

1) What is the best cast-on method for a throw/blanket? I usually use the long-tail cast on...but the idea of trying to do that for 200 stitches is rather...daunting.

2) What's the best way of keeping track of the number of stitches you've cast on when you're doing so many?

If it makes a difference for the cast-on type, this is the one I want to do: Fabulous Felines Rajah's Blanket.

Thanks!

Knitting: Project #18: First sock done! Yay!

tidesong — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:12:59 GMT

I'm so excited! I finished my first sock! *bounce* Kitchener stitch was something that scared me, and I don't know why, because it was really quite simple.

There are mistakes in this sock, and a couple areas I'll have to stitch closed with some thread, but all things considered, I think I did a pretty darn good job!

A bit ambitious on my part to go from dishcloths to sock, but I did it! :)

Emergency Kitten Network Activation!! (DC/Baltimore/VA)

tidesong — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:35:01 GMT

Activation of the EMERGENCY KITTEN NETWORK! DC/Baltimore/VA people, pass the word! She will drive up to 4 hours from Fredericksburg. Looks like a sweetie...

http://slave2tehtink.livejournal.com/580343.html

Knitting: Project #18: Gusset and foot done!

tidesong — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:07:25 GMT

Hey, look! It's starting to look like a sock now!

Turned the heel, picked up the gusset (after some confusion on how to do it), and knit the foot. There are two steps left, according to the KAL leader. We get one step per week, on Fridays..so now I have to wait. *taps foot* :)

I'm proud of myself for getting this far. Some of it's been kind of confusing, but the woman "teaching" this, and the other gals on the list, have been very helpful. I still think when I go to make the second sock, I'll try the two circular method and see how it goes. I don't really like DPNs, though I must say I'm surprised at how comfortable I've become with using them....

Knitting: Project #18: Heel turned

tidesong — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:12:39 GMT

Turned the heel on my sock today...tricky, but wasn't as bad as I thought it would be....

'Turn of the Screw' ticket available

tidesong — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:32:07 GMT

Madison Peeps: I have an extra ticket for Madison Opera's Turn of the Screw performance on Thursday, January 28, at 7:30pm. It's at the Overture Center in the Playhouse. Let me know if you're interested! I believe all performances are sold out.

Knitting: Project #18: In progress

tidesong — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:21:19 GMT

Double-pointed needles are teh ebil. It hurts to work with them! I finally figured out how to join in the round, at least. But doing all the stitching is hurting my hands because I feel like I have to hold on to everything so tight just to manipulate the needles enough to make a stitch. Ugh. I think after the first sock is done, I'm going to investigate knitting in the round on 2 circulars, or even using the Magic Loop method....

Progress so far:

(Isn't Kiki cute?)

Knitting: Project #17: Finished!

tidesong — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:35:52 GMT

This latest project is a gift for my mother for her birthday (the big 6-0...omg). She's currently going through an owl fascination...seriously..I should take pictures of the fireplace mantle so you can see all the owls she has.... But I found this on Ravelry, and thought, "Hey, what the heck, why not." Even though I'm not sure she'll even like it because she's just picky that way. But I got it in addition to one owl book and one knitting book she wanted, so hopefully she'll at least like something!

This was my second attempt at cables (and again, without a needle). I think I'm getting the hang of it. Oh, and this was my first use of the set of blocking pads I'd ordered from KnitPicks. I love them! So much better than using a towel....

Emergency Kitten Network Activation!! (Bay Area, CA)

tidesong — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:37:37 GMT

From jettcat:

This is an activation of the EMERGENCY KITTEN NETWORK!! San Jose / Santa Clara area: http://community.livejournal.com/note_to_cat/3203539.html

HALP!

Knitting: Projects #13-16: Finished!

tidesong — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:33:43 GMT

Took me longer than I'd hoped to finish this set of dishcloths that I am giving to my friend as my holiday gift to her. I was hoping to have them done by Christmas, but tendinitis in my right hand made me slow way down, and even stop for a while. But, I'm done now!

This is four cloths in two different colorways of the Sugar'n Cream Naturals. There are two "Simple Knit Dishcloths" and two "Double Bump Dishcloths", one in each color. I really love these colorways, and I really love these two patterns. The "Simple Knit" is similar to the "Grandma's Favorite" but I like it better because it's easier to keep consistent as opposed to doing the YO increase. The "Double Bump" is just plain neat. The texture is wonderful, and it looks impressive.

Knitting: Project #14: Finished

tidesong — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:48:13 GMT

This is part 2 of Raven's holiday gift; a dishcloth using the "Double Bump" pattern found on Ravelry.

I *love* this pattern, and I love this colorway. The only things I didn't like were 1) binding off in purl (just awkward), and 2) figuring out where the yarn had to be and which way it should be moved after the slipped stitches. But now I know!

Knitting: Project #13: Finished

tidesong — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:25:19 GMT

Hey, wow! Who knew one could actually knit a piece of matzah? ;)

This is the first in a set of cloths I'm making for a friend as part of her holiday present. I do love this yarn! But I showed Mike the picture, and he reminded that Passover wasn't for another several months. :P This is just a simple pattern. I like it better than the Grandma's Favorite pattern, because the edging is easier to keep neat and more consistent than with the yarn over eyelet. I've also gotten the hang of knitting an i-cord for a hanging loop!

Took me a long time to do this one because I've been fighting some kind of tendinitis in my right hand.

Knitting: Projects 11 and 12 - Finished

tidesong — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:56:32 GMT

Look, TARDIS dishcloths! :) I just realized I hadn't posted pictures of these somewhat recent knitting projects..I was waiting because one was actually a gift for Mike and I didn't want him to see it before I gave it to him (oh baby). The second one was for Andy (my voice teacher and opera chorusmaster) because I told him I'd made one for Mike and he said he wanted one. So I made him one! They both have an i-cord hanging loop, but I hadn't gotten pictures of Mike's with the cord after I had decided to pick up stitches and add it.... The only difference between them is that Mike's was done on size 7 needles as the pattern called for, so the pattern actually pops out a little better. I had something else on the needles when I was doing Andy's so I just did it on size 8 needles.

Mike's:

Andy's:

Question for knitters

tidesong — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:27:32 GMT

Hey knitters...if I knit an i-cord and want to attach it to the corner of a dishcloth, what's the best way to do that?

Alternately, could I pick up stitches and knit an i-cord off of that?

(I made an i-cord as an experiment, and managed to get it attached by doing a fancy k2t type thing, but I don't think it's the best way to have done this. Suggestions?)

Knitting: Project #10 (November KAL)

tidesong — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:05:15 GMT

Today, the Knit-A-Long at Rachel's Knitting Room wrapped up. I finished it, and actually blocked it this time. The button I bought for it was way too big, so I used one I had lying around. I'm really proud of this one! :) Color is closest to either the full picture, or the picture of the top.

Knitting cables

tidesong — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:05:16 GMT

So after getting frustrated with using a cable needle to knit cables, I did some looking around, and taught myself tonight how to knit cables WITHOUT using a damned cable needle. It is so much easier!

Instructions were found:

Cable right
Cable left

I liked these because they were very clear and showed step-by-step pictures. Yay!

Knitting: Project #9: Finished!

tidesong — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:29:58 GMT

"Little Fountains Dishcloth"...my first attempt at a lace pattern. I like it a lot! I discovered I'd screwed something up part way in, but I didn't feel like ripping it back, so I just adjusted for it. Just a little character.... ;) It's not blocked yet. I'm really proud of this one, though!

This is an easy pattern to remember, and easy to get into a groove. While the idea of this pattern was quite daunting at first, I was surprised (and pleased) to find it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.

Close-up:

First KAL

tidesong — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:46:06 GMT

So, I've decided to do my first Knit-A-Long, with a group called Rachel's Knitting Room....

But OMFG! I bought a set of Boye circular needles today because the KAL calls for a Size 7, which I don't have yet, and my KnitPicks aren't coming until Thursday...and I wanted to start the KAL with everyone else...but OMG! These needles SUCK SO BAD! They are so rigid that I have to fight to do anything with them. AUGH! ladysea told me she's heard there's a way to steam the wires so they're not so bad, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet.

I managed to get through the first 12 rows of this (Day 1). So far, it has one new-to-me stitch (k1inc, which I *think* is the same as K1f&b) AND freaking cables. *headdesk* I'm hoping you slip the stitches purlwise for cables, because the instructions don't say...so that's what I did. I fear that the stitches for this whole thing are going to be so uneven because I'm having to deal with the freaking terrible wire on these Boye needles and I'll need to restart the whole thing when I get the KnitPicks anyway. *sigh*

Ah, well. How else am I going to learn things other than by doing them??

Question for knitters

tidesong — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:28:49 GMT

Okay, so I'm doing another one of the Grandmother's Favorite dishcloths. This is the one that you start with casting on 4 stitches, then increase each row with a yarn over until you get to 44ish stitches, then decrease each row with k2t, yo, k2t until you get back down to 4.

My question is this: the holes produced by the yarn overs are significantly bigger when I do it on the rows in which I am decreasing, even though I am trying to maintain as consistent a tension as when I am doing the increases. Any ideas on why this is happening and/or how I can fix this? It's rather annoying. :P